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Religious Protection Law Doesn't Protect Church Fund From Sex Abuse Victims, 7th Circuit Rules

The Seventh Circuit has ruled that a $55 million cemetery trust fund isn't off limits from the creditors of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, the Associated Press reports. Sex abuse victims and their lawyers argue that the trust fund was created to shield money from them. The archdiocese has filed for bankruptcy because hundreds of sex-abuse victims have filed claims against the archdiocese.

The archdiocese argued that the Religious Freedom Restoration Act protected the trust fund from a court-appointed committee the represents sexual assault victims and other creditors in bankruptcy court, but the court rejected that argument because creditors aren't the government.